


Light, Smoke & Poison

by CountDorku



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horror, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Background Bow/Jewelstar (She-Ra), Blood, Blood and Violence, Dark Magic, F/F, Forgiveness, Gorgons (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Guilt, Hordak is a vampire but he's not in this story or super relevant, Human/Monster Romance, Inspired by Castlevania, Inspired by Music, Libraries, Loss, Magic, Major Character Undeath, Monster Hunters, Past Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Past Adora/Glimmer (She-Ra), Past Character Death, Promises, Second Chances, like it's not a horror story but it's got horror elements, well kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25021270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CountDorku/pseuds/CountDorku
Summary: In a world of vampires, werebeasts and the darkest of magics, the hunter-sorceress Glimmer and the werecat known only as Catra, still mourning the woman they both loved, have formed an uneasy partnership. Together, they will strike at the Great Library and its malevolent mistress - the gorgon of darkness herself, Shadow Weaver! Can they defeat Catra's old mentor...and can they control their own hearts?
Relationships: Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra & Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra), Catra/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Kudos: 19





	Light, Smoke & Poison

The _crack_ of shattering bone disturbed the night as Catra crushed the undead sentry’s head against the parapet. Mismatched blue and gold eyes watched dispassionately as the skeleton’s bones collapsed to the ground.

The werecat’s long brown coat flared out as she spun around, plucking another sentry’s skull from its vertebrae. In a single flowing motion, she hurled it into the moat with a _plunk_.

“Stop showing off,” Glimmer told her, wine-coloured cloak shifting in the night wind. The four moons were all full, and their mixing light formed the silver-white that she knew as true moonlight. Her arm lashed out, and golden light shimmered around the blade of the Sword of Protection as it cut through bone.

“Yeah, yeah, Sparkles.” Catra rolled her mismatched eyes. “Look, we got over the wall, and it doesn’t look like the alarm’s been started. The plan is working.”

“All I’m saying is that we should probably be a little more careful and a little less flamboyant. Just kill the poor devils, let them rest. Then we can move onto our actual target.” Glimmer slid the sword into the sheath on her back.

“She’ll be in the library.” Catra looked past the walls, to where the brooding shape of the Great Library sat, a once-proud building steeped in darkness. “We should get moving.”

“Remember the plan, Catra. We fight together, we don’t let her split us up-”

“Your plans suck anyway, Sparkles.”

* * *

The Great Library was vast, shadows hanging from its heights like jet-black cobwebs, actively fighting the tinted moonlight that shone through the stained glass of the windows. The towering bookshelves, bulging with grimoires and scrolls, stood in rows, like marching soldiers; more lined the walls, standing between alcoves that were apparently there solely to hold statues.

On closer inspection, the statues weren’t the work of any mortal sculptor. Their expressions – pain, shock, fear – were too weighty, their clothes too real. On some of them, Glimmer could make out individual threads, dangling from a torn sleeve.

“Yeah, Shadow Weaver does that. Don’t aim for the head; you might knock off her mask.” Catra barked out a short, humourless laugh. “Then again, it’s not like she has a heart, so I guess we’ll have to go for the liver?”

“Oh, Catra, you wrong me.”

The voice was a rich contralto that put Glimmer in mind of smoke and poison. As if drawn by magnets, she and Catra looked up-

Ahead of them was an enormous staircase, and at the top of the staircase was the gorgon.

Shadow Weaver’s frame was hung with rich burgundy robes, tiny scraps of grey-green scales visible at her wrists and neck. Glowing eyes glared balefully out from behind a featureless mask. Tendrils of black smoke spread from her head, where Glimmer and Catra had hair, the shadows taking the form of spreading and coiling snakes.

“You’ve come such a long way for nothing,” oozed Shadow Weaver. “My research has already gone to Lord Hordak; now, nothing can stop him from summoning his master at the next lunar conjunction.”

“Maybe so,” said Glimmer, drawing the sword, “but at least we can make sure you’re not there to help him with the ritual.”

At Glimmer’s side, Catra stiffened, a low, rumbling growl vibrating through her body. Her posture shifted, growing hunched and powerful, her face shifting into an extended snout.

“Catra,” said Glimmer warningly, “stick to the plan. We fight her together, remember? Stay with me-”

Catra leaped forward, her voice little more than a snarl.

“Catra!”

* * *

From the looks of it, the room had been a kitchen before Shadow Weaver had claimed the Library for her own. Bleeding from a multitude of small wounds, they had bunkered down here and lit decades-old firewood to hold the shadows at bay.

“What is your problem?” demanded Glimmer. “I thought we were supposed to be a _team_ , Catra! Why are you acting like this?”

“Like what?” Catra shot back, her tone sullen. She’d been driven back into her human – or near-human, at least – form in the retreat, and now she had a bandage around her upper arm, the legacy of her one attempt to actually strike at Shadow Weaver.

“Like you don’t need to work with me!” Glimmer’s voice was almost a shout, and she hastily forced the volume down. “You rush ahead, you pick fights, you try to do it all yourself – why? The prestige? The pride? Or are you just too reckless to think before you act?”

“You don’t understand-” managed Catra.

“How can I understand when you won’t _talk to me_?” Glimmer was almost pleading by this point. “Catra, I…I want this partnership to work. But all you do is try to get yourself killed!”

“And what would it matter if I _was_ killed?” snapped Catra, and Glimmer jolted backwards. “I don’t have anything left _but_ the hunt, Sparkles. I’ve burned all my bridges, I’ve hurt a lot of people – nobody would care if I died.”

“I would-”

“No, you wouldn’t! Not after everything I’ve done! I fought you, I hurt you…I…I got her killed!”

Silence fell.

“I got her killed,” repeated Catra, her voice dropping to a plaintive near-whisper. “She chose you, and I killed her for it.”

“No. No, Adora’s death wasn’t…it wasn’t you.” Glimmer’s voice wasn’t any louder. “I took the grimoire. I chose to use the forbidden spells. _I_ killed her.”

“I could have helped her take down the demon, Sparkles! I could have saved her, and I ditched her.” Catra turned to look Glimmer right in the eyes, and Glimmer was shocked to see tears glistening on the werecat’s cheeks. “I can’t hope to be forgiven, Sparkles. I don’t have a home, my only family is dead because of what I did. I can’t balance the scales; all I can do is fight until I die. What else do I have left?”

“You’ve got me,” said Glimmer. She didn’t even realise she’d said it until it was out there.

“After everything I’ve done?”

“I lost the woman I loved because I screwed up, Catra! I overstepped the limits, stole a forbidden tome, used magic that should never have been written – and Adora paid the price. If you can’t be forgiven – well, maybe neither can I! But at the very least we can try to forgive _each other_. Maybe…” She bowed her head. “Maybe if we can do that, eventually we can find a way to forgive ourselves.”

“…All right,” managed Catra. “Together, then?”

“Together.”

* * *

“You know what, I’ve changed my mind,” said Glimmer sarcastically. “Together sucks, actually.”

Catra, bleeding from a dozen small wounds, lashed out with her claws. The smoke parted, the shadow snake reforming as the claws passed through, and it struck at her again-

The Sword of Protection lashed out, golden light burning along its edge, and the snakes withdrew for a few precious moments, buying Catra a chance to withdraw. With Glimmer in the rearguard, sword dancing in her hand, they withdrew from the shadow-haunted library.

“I could start to get really tired of running away,” growled Catra. “We need a new strategy.”

“Any ideas?”

“Just one. You have to use moon magic. On me.”

For a moment, Glimmer had trouble breathing. “I promised I wouldn’t…”

“You promised _me_ that you wouldn’t. I’m releasing you from it.” Catra forced her fists open with visible effort. “Look, we need to hit the witch with something she won’t anticipate. She’s always tried to weaken my beast form; .”

“No. No, it’s too dangerous. If I get it wrong, you could be trapped…”

“Then you’ll just have to not get it wrong, right, Sparkles?” Catra plastered on a wavering and unconvincing grin.

Glimmer was silent for what felt like a very long time.

“All right. If you insist. But…promise me you’ll come back.” The emotion in Glimmer’s expression forced the air from Catra’s lungs. “I’ve lost too many people already. I’m not losing you too.”

“All right, Sparkles. I promise.”

“Okay.” Glimmer concentrated, and a halo of power began to surround her hands – the silver-white of true moonlight.

* * *

The sound of padded feet on the ground echoed through the library, and Shadow Weaver permitted herself a smirk under her mask.

“You may as well give up, Catra. You can’t beat me. Save yourself the trouble, and return to my side.”

“Wanna bet?”

Catra’s voice was deep, ragged and raw, closer to the snarl of a vicious animal than the

“You know how weak you are compared to a _real_ werecat, child! Your petty little rebellion is over – all that you get to decide is whether you return to my service and claim what little you can, or if your bones join my servants on the wall.”

“Not…weak,” Catra managed, stumbling over the words using a mouth not designed to speak. “You…stole from…me. My strength…”

“And if I did, what of it? You would never have used your strength to its full potential. So I…ensured it was claimed by a more worthy mistress.”

“Not…worthy. Not…strong. All…you do…is steal.”

“So you’ve chosen to die, then. A pity; you could have been a valuable asset.” Shadow Weaver gathered power around herself, the thick black smoke coiling around her like droplets of poison swirling in water, and stepped out from between the shelves-

A strange, silver-grey light blazed, and as she saw the hulking shape before her, Shadow Weaver realised she may have made a tactical error.

Catra’s werecat form was usually small – generally just her normal form with a more leonine face, more pronounced claws, and a hunched, primal stance, lifted up on now-digitigrade legs.

This was…well, comparing Catra’s usual form to it was like comparing a normal human to a hulking ogre. Catra was enormous, easily head and shoulders taller than Shadow Weaver even with a pronounced hunch. Streaks of brown hair, most notably a leonine mane, broke up a shaggy silver-white pelt – like strands of moonlight woven across her body.

A clawed fist the size of a wine barrel closed around Shadow Weaver’s ribcage, and Catra roared – a low, animal sound, the sound of a predator stalking the night.

* * *

Glimmer stepped around the corner into the library and froze. She’d moved to help Catra as soon as she’d been able to walk again after carrying out the ritual, but…it didn’t look like Catra needed any help.

As she watched, Catra hurled her childhood tormentor across the library. It looked like a petulant child tossing a ragdoll in a tantrum. The impact was no game, however; the bookshelf that interrupted Shadow Weaver’s flight shook under the impact and toppled over, almost in slow-motion, starting a string of collapsing bookshelves like a comically large game of dominoes.

As the witch picked herself up, Glimmer summoned up her power. Most of it was exhausted by the ritual she had performed on Catra, but she could channel enough magic from the Sword to hurl a bolt of burning golden light straight at Shadow Weaver. The gorgon hissed, summoning a barrier of shadows thick enough to hold back the light-

Catra delivered a vicious swat that hurled Shadow Weaver across the room, and the shadowy wall dissipated. Moving with a speed and grace that was at once alluring and repellent on such an enormous frame, Catra made for the base of the great window, where Shadow Weaver had landed.

“So this…is it…” grated the witch, her voice thrumming with pain. “Very well, then…I will show you my true face.” Her hand came up, removing her mask, and Glimmer flinched aside – she knew the cost of the gorgon’s gaze. She locked her eyes onto Catra, her heart sinking as

patches of her silver-white fur turned the dull grey of stone-

The towering werecat brought both fists down onto Shadow Weaver, and Glimmer’s gorge rose at the sound of the impact – the wet thud of rupturing flesh overlaid with the crack of breaking bones. Poisonous blood spurted, and then stopped.

Catra roared to the heavens, the grey patches on her fur shrinking as the moonlight flowed back through them. She pawed Shadow Weaver’s corpse a couple of times, then rose, sniffing the air. She turned to face the door, and Glimmer’s own blood ran a few degrees colder as she saw Catra’s eyes. There was no reason in them – just the look of a feral animal.

Her… _friend_ was losing herself to the transformation, the moonlight of her magic turning into poison in Catra’s veins. From her stance and her approach, now she only saw Glimmer as prey.

She reached out with her power, but she couldn’t turn off Catra’s newfound might. The ritual would have to fade naturally – or Catra would have to regain control, somehow. She stepped forward, carefully, moving out of the tight doorway and into a place where she would have as much room to manoeuvre as possible.

“Easy, Catra,” she managed, her voice barely wavering. “I’m not your enemy, remember? We’re a team. We’re here together…”

Catra leaped, and Glimmer threw herself out of the way, sheathing the Sword as she came up. “Catra, I know you’re still in there! Catra!” She dodged again, and cursed as she realised that her blind dodging had left her cornered. Catra’s fanged maw filled her vision as the werecat approached. “You said you’d come back! You promised!”

The jaw snapped shut, inches from her nose.

“Prrrr…romise?” managed Catra, light beginning to dawn in her eyes…

Shrinking and glowing and shedding her silver-white coat all at once, she collapsed forward, and Glimmer wrapped her arms around Catra – now human-sized and seemingly barely holding onto consciousness.

Catra’s mismatched eyes blinked open, and Glimmer impulsively kissed her on the forehead.

Catra looked up at her and mumbled, “Sparkles?”

“You came back,” said Glimmer simply, and Catra was silent, seemingly content to just enjoy the contact.

After a few moments, someone coughed, and Glimmer’s eyes flew open.

“Bow?”

Her oldest friend stood over the duo, wiping dust off his long grey coat. From long familiarity, Glimmer knew that if he turned his back she’d see a stylised heart, embroidered into the back of his coat like a proclamation.

He smiled awkwardly. “Sorry to interrupt, but…I assume I have you to thank for saving us?”

“Us-” Glimmer peeked past Bow to see a cluster of people gathered in the devastated library. She could definitely recognise some of them from the statues that had, until recently, been set into alcoves along the library walls. “Uh…yeah. We…Is this where you’ve been? You just…disappeared. Adora and I looked for you for months.”

“Yeah. I heard that some of my family were here, and…I didn’t want to burden you guys with my problems. Shadow Weaver got the drop on me.” He looked around. “Where is Adora? You guys didn’t have a falling-out?”

Glimmer looked down. “No. Bow, Adora’s…She’s…She was-”

The Sword of Protection suddenly blazed with golden light, rising out of the scabbard on Glimmer’s back. Before the awed gazes of the assembled hunters, the light started to tighten, taking a human form…

A very familiar human form, too.

“Adora!” said Glimmer and Catra in unison, and the blazing spectre smiled beatifically at them.

“It’s really me,” said Adora. “It took me so long to become strong enough to manifest like this…but I’ve been with you since I…” Her eyes flicked to the floor. “Since I foolishly thought I could take on that demon. I had to watch you blaming yourselves, when I was the one who tried to take it on with strength alone.”

“I missed a _lot_ ,” said Bow.

“Adora…” Catra flinched under Adora’s shining gaze, and Glimmer could see her losing any words she had assembled. “I…Sparkles…”

“I know,” said Adora, and smiled again. “I’m okay with it, Catra – really. If being together brings you two happiness, I wish you the best. I just…want you to move on from me, both of you. I won’t be able to do this often. I can give power to the Sword, I can watch over you…but I can’t rejoin you. I don’t fit in the world of the living any more, not without turning into a monster, like Hordak. Just…be happy. Build lives.” She turned to Bow. “And Bow…the Star Siblings are still looking for you. They were heading for the Kingdom of Snows the last time Glimmer saw them.”

“That sounds like Jewelstar.” Bow nodded. “I’ll head off after them soon.”

Adora brought her hands together, as if in prayer. “I’m running out of strength, everyone, but I’ll always be with you.”

Both Glimmer and Catra instinctively reached out as Adora’s angelic form dissipated into a shower of golden lights, like a rain of stars.

* * *

“Hey.”

Glimmer, at the bow of the ship, lifted her head and turned to face Catra. Bow, happy to stretch his muscles after at least a year as a statue, was busy helping in the rigging somewhere. “Hey, Catra. Are you okay? I know we haven’t talked much since…”

“Since I killed Shadow Weaver.” Catra seemed to be having some trouble meeting Glimmer’s eyes. “Sparkles, when you kissed my forehead…did you…”

“Did I mean it?” Glimmer smiled. “I did, Catra. I think…I think we could have a future together. If you want to try.”

“I…I mean, I’ll give it a shot, Sparkles. I’m not an expert, mind.” Now, she met Glimmer’s eyes; her own were sparkling with a hint of mischief. “Don’t assume I’m going to let you run the show just because we’re together, though. Your plans still suck.”

“I mean, now that Bow’s back, I might hold the majority anyway.”

“Only until we find his boyfriend and the rest of the Siblings again. I think both Tallstar and Starla are likely to vote with me.”

“Pull the other one.”

“Don’t tempt me or I just might!”

Glimmer couldn’t help but smile. Sure, the Lord of the Vampires might be planning something…but the conjunction wasn’t for a few months. They still had time to gather allies, hatch a plan…and for her and Catra to spend some time together.

**Author's Note:**

> This one's been percolating for _months_. It's Castlevania-inspired, but since I haven't actually gotten around to playing the Castlevania collection yet, not directly - more from the Megas songs [Vampire Killer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxS46BTcrrs) and [Stalker](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOHncoZ_0O8).
> 
> With thanks to EtherianFrigatebird, Crynelium and TheRodrigator6 for beta-reading!


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